My Journey
In Richard Rodriguez’s book, “Hunger of Memory,” he talked about his experience of leaving home and learning a new culture and the consequential separation from his family traditions. Rodriguez’s parents were immigrants from Mexico, and he grew up speaking Spanish at home, until the nuns from his school came and advised his parents to speak more English at home. They believed that this would help him learn and therefore he would receive a better education. A better education meant easier communication and to find a better career in the future.
Another challenge for Rodriguez was adapting to a new culture that was different from his family’s culture. The interests he developed in school and through his books separated him from his family. The attitude of his parents reflected their lack of knowledge of what their son was learning and their inability to relate to him and the new ideas he was developing. He hid when he was reading because he was ashamed of his parents seeing him because they would not understand. Rodriguez stated in his book that he was,
“Haunted by the knowledge that one chooses to become a student. (Education is not an inevitable or natural step in growing up.) Here is a child who cannot forget that his academic success distances him from a life he loved, even from his own memory of himself” (Rodriguez 518).
This quotation reflects Rodriguez’s attitude throughout the whole story that although he is grateful for his education, he struggles with the distance it created between him and his family.
The challenges I faced in my life are similar to what Rodriguez experienced. I still remember that Saturday morning when I was sitting with my family, my mother and my father. We were eating breakfast, so quietly in our living room when my phone chirped. I rushed to check it because I was waiting for an answer from Aramco, one of the best oil companies in the world. They are well known due to their great opportunities and scholarships in the Gulf countries. It is a company that I always wanted to join as an employee. I could not believe my eyes. They had replied back to me with an acceptance. I was happy; so happy that I almost cried. My father always hoped that I would be accepted to the same company he worked for. The moment I told my parents they hugged me like I was a child again. However, although my mother was supportive of my dreams, she was afraid of the idea of me becoming a pilot.
Receiving this text and my acceptance to Aramco meant a long journey that would include learning a new language and moving countries for my education. At that moment, I do not think I understood everything I would go through to receive an education and work towards my dream of being a pilot. Some of the challenges I faced were the tough requirements of becoming a pilot, adjusting to the cultural differences of both the countries and accepting the fact that I was to live apart from home and family.
The first was passing the TOEFL iBT exam, to test my English skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. I especially struggled with writing and developing my thoughts into essays. On the other hand, Aramco provided us with great resources and teachers to help us pass this test much like the nuns helped Rodriguez. I remember spending a lot of time studying for this test. I felt I was away from my family. I did not like this feeling, but I had to do it. I always believed that one day I will get what I always wanted, a great job that will make my life more meaningful. The second requirement was passing the DLR test “DeutschesZentrumfürLuft,” of a German aerospace center. In this test there are eight sections; each is an hour long and has subjects including Math, English, Physics, and also five memory tests. After completing all these requirements, time had come for me to leave my family, my home, and my country for education that I knew would change my life.
Living a life far different from the one I grew up living with my parents, I understand what Rodriquez is feeling. “The primary reason for my success in the classroom was that I couldn’t forget that schooling was changing me and separating me from the life I enjoyed before becoming a student” (Rodriquez 516). This quotation reflects the alienation that Rodriguez felt as he learned the language and ideas different from his parents. The culture in the United States is very different from my home, and I am unable to explain these differences to my parents. Some major cultural differences I experienced were that the family system in the US is very different from Saudi Arabia. In the US, the families are small, and the family members are usually too busy, so they occasionally meet. Whereas, in Saudi Arabia, the families all live together and do everything together. I come from a country where the families are closely knitted whereas the Americans are more independent. I was on my own for the first time in life, and it took time to adjust to this. “Advancing in his studies, the boy notices that his mother and father have not changed as much as he. Rather, when he sees them, they often remind him of the person he once was and the life he earlier shared with them” (Rodriguez 518).
Although I know I needed to move to advance in my education, I still miss home, my family, my traditions and my own Arabic culture. Rodriguez insists that his story is one that everyone goes through to some degree. We all learn new ideas throughout our lives that might be different from the things learned from ones’ parents. We become more open-minded and learned more things about the world than our parents knew, and this growth can cause separation. On the other hand, I do not agree with the universal application of this concept because although many people leave home and have new experiences and grow, there are people who stay in the same place their whole lives and live lives similar to their parents. They do not leave or experience growth, in the same way as people who adapt to a new place or a new culture. For example, one of my best friends in Saudi Arabia, Mohammad, is still living in the same place since he was born. His father tried to help him get a scholarship to the US, but he did not like the idea of leaving home.
Rodriguez’s theory is applicable to people as a whole. Arguably, the human experience and the journey through life that we all experience through coming of age could reflect the same concepts that Rodriguez describes. Although not everyone goes through dramatic changes in their lives, we all experience conflict, hardships, and opportunities at growth.
Work Cited
Rodriguez, Richard. Hunger of memory the education of Richard Rodriguez : an autobiography.. New York: Bantam Books, 2004. Print.
